Kiva Loans

More than 1.7 billion people around the world are unbanked and can’t access the financial services they need. Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 in San Francisco, with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive.

Kiva does this by crowdfunding loans and unlocking capital for the underserved, improving the quality and cost of financial services, and addressing the underlying barriers to financial access around the world. Through Kiva's work, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment and families can afford needed emergency care.

Unlike traditional bank loans, Kiva loans don’t require a minimum credit score, years of cash flow documents or collateral. But you do need to meet the following minimum criteria in order to be considered:

• You and your business must be based in the United States.

• You must be over 18 years old.

• You must be using the loan for business purposes.

• Your business must not be engaged in any of the following activities: multi-level marketing / direct sales; illegal activities (e.g. gambling, scams); or pure financial investing (e.g. stocks)

• You cannot currently be in foreclosure, bankruptcy, or under any liens.

• You must be willing to demonstrate your social capital by having a small number of your friends and family make a loan to you.

To apply for a Kiva U.S. loan, start an application here.

The application is all online, and takes between 30 minutes and an hour to complete. Once you complete the application, a member of the Kiva U.S. team will reach out to you to better understand your business and ask any follow up questions. After reviewing the completed application, the Kiva U.S. team will determine what loan amount you qualify for and notify you of next steps.

If your application is approved, we’ll ask you to demonstrate your creditworthiness through our unique social underwriting.

• FAQs